al-mofhariz

Have you ever stopped to think...what's the relationship between magnetism and electricity?  Why do we teach them together after all?  My little brain has a hard time making connections to higher level science, but this one I get! 

We are currently working on Magnetism and Electricity using the FOSS kit by the same name.  This is my third year teaching it with students (as well as many sessions with adults) and it always blows my mind how Dr. Lowery connects the concepts in such a concrete way. 

On an aside note, I have met Dr. Lowery several times with my journeys with FOSS and I absolutely love the man.  Here we are at the Hotel Roanoke together...bad picture, but still one I treasure....  That's me on the right with my science BFF's Rita behind me and Sherrie on the left. 

Anyway...back to school...I had always played around with magnets when I taught K-2 and knew that this was an important science concept. But I thought it stopped there.  NOW I  know better.  In the be…

Okay so yesterday I walked you through parts of the website.  Today we are going to look at the most important part...Teacher Resources. 

Just to remind you...  www.fossweb.com

1.  Go to your grade level band on the right side (grades 3-5)
2. Click on the module you want to explore - Magnetism and Electricity
3. Click on the Parent/Teacher resources section

Now we are here! 

1.  Module Summary - gives you a basic description of what you will learn during this module
2. Home School Connection - gives you access to the family newsletter, math problem of the week, project ideas and home/school connections
3.  Teacher Resources:
The Resource Database has a collection of non-fiction and fiction books that complement the unit as well as recommended videos, websites and software.
Module Teaching Notes:  This is a forum where people have added tips, background knowledge and information about materials.
If there is a change that needs to be made post publication date, this is where you would find it.
T…

This weekend I had the great opportunity to work for Delta/FOSS at the Virginia Association of Science Teachers Workshop.  I was able to present on Science Notebooks as well as how using Inquiry Science has helped raise my Reading Scores. 

While there, I talked to several teachers who wanted some help navigating the FOSS website.Right now we are in transition from the current website to the newer third edition site.  The third edition site is available for free right now, but will soon be only available to teachers using the new program.  I will talk about that website on another day.  Today I will talk about the current website and all the FREE resources.  So, here it is...

First, go to www.fossweb.com.

Wow - there is so much to see!  On the left hand side, you can find all the current news, newsletters and professional development activities available.

At the bottom of the left hand side is a box that says: Beyond the Classroom  This is where you can find a lot of good information abou…

I don't know about where you live, but here in Virginia the foliage is in peak season.  It just seems like the perfect time to get outside and do some observations.  It's time to touch, smell and notice! So how can we turn our observations into descriptive writing? 

In the new "Science-Centered Language Development" research developed by FOSS (www.fossweb.com) authors suggest that through observations of living organisms, an environment, an object or phenomenon we can recapture the sensory images clearly into very descriptive writing. 

So how do we start?  We start with a walk outside to observe a particular object or area.  Have the students take note of what they see, smell, hear, notice, etc... I have created a worksheet based on the suggestions by FOSS and the scaffold that they suggest. The frame sentences look something like this:


I observed ________________.  When I touch the _________ I feel _______________.  The ______has ____.  I noticed _____.  It feels __…

So....one of my favorite tools that I learned from FOSS is the Line of Learning.  This is another strategy that can cross curricular units and be used in math, social studies and even reading.  The idea behind this strategy is to let students add to their notebooks AFTER discussions, readings, investigations, etc...  It is often used after brainstorming sessions, KWL chars, characteristics of objects or sharing observations. 

How does this work?  After students have written their personal ideas in their notebooks for the day, they will draw a line of learning.  It is simply that...a line!
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Then you will have a discussion time - either whole class, partner or group time.  During this time you will share what you learned, add content piece to a class chart or vocabulary words in a word bank.  The line of learning gives students time to add what they have learned from listening to peers, teachers or readings.
    Students who struggle with memory often f…